Military

Some Military EMC testing projects are routine. This post describes a recent one that wasn’t. Hydraulics International, Inc. asked us to test its four-wheeled 2-ton hydraulic power generator (pictured in MET’s Military EMC chamber), which is used to check the flight control of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey. The V-22 Osprey is well known for... Read More

Most Military/Avionic EMC test programs include radiated emissions testing. This is the test method where the unintentional emissions which radiate from a piece of electronic equipment under test are measured with an antenna and spectrum analyzer and plotted against the required limit. One issue which must always be dealt with during radiated emissions and... Read More

Although it was developed by the United States military, MIL-STD-810 is a test methodology that is used by many manufacturers now, regardless of whether they plan to sell to the U.S. Department of Defense. MIL-STD-810G allows for tailoring an equipment’s environmental design and test limits to the conditions that it will experience, also known as... Read More

Despite some reports to the contrary, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will accept RTCA/DO-160 commercial aircraft equipment test reports from accredited and non-accredited labs. Accreditation is a 3rd party assessment of a laboratory’s quality systems, processes, and documentation. Accreditation assures a minimum level of competence, but it does... Read More

A draft of Revision G of MIL-STD-461 has not been released yet, but MET Labs has obtained information about proposed changes to the Military EMC test. As covered in this previous post, one of the primary changes is the incorporation of indirect lightning testing heavily leveraged off of Section 22 of RTCA/DO-160G. There is no... Read More

At this week’s 2011 International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility in Long Beach, CA, Fred Heather of the US Navy in Patuxent River, Maryland, gave an overview on the proposed addition of electrostatic discharge (ESD) and lightning testing to MIL-STD-461. Heather is the Electromagnetic Environmental Effects (E3) Lead for the U.S. government’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program. Currently, MIL-STD-461... Read More

With the recent news that the U.S. President’s $223 million “doomsday plane” is protected from electromagnetic pulse (EMP) came the inevitable questions. What is EMP and how is it created? How can a plane with a reported 165,000 pounds of state-of-the-art electronics possibly be protected from such a sinister attack? EMP & Its Creation EMP... Read More

For manufacturers of products that require military standard (MIL-STD) testing, but have more of a commercial than military application, the product may be exempted from restrictive provisions in the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). If after reviewing the U.S. Munitions List and other relevant parts of the ITAR,... Read More

About Eurofins | MET Labs

MET Laboratories, Inc was established in 1959 and has become a global service leader for product approvals and regulatory certification of electrical products in Baltimore, MD. In 1989, MET broke the UL monopoly for product safety testing and certification in the United States and is approved to certify products in over 200 UL standard categories. MET Labs is a service leader and trusted provider of product testing and regulatory certification of electrical products for leading brands and companies in the United States, Europe and worldwide. In 2018, MET joined the Eurofins Scientific network and has become a key component in Eurofins’ product testing portfolio.

About the MET Mark

The MET Mark for product safety is accepted throughout the United States & Canada and indicates compliance to federal regulations for safe use in the workplace. 30 years ago, MET became the first OSHA-recognized NRTL (Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory) in the United States. The NRTL mark is required under federal law for products used in workplaces in all 50 states. MET listed products are also sold in every major retail stores throughout the United States and Canada.